Newsletter - 2nd half Summer term
Dear Parents,
It’s hard to believe we’re already well into the second half of the summer term, and we’ve got some busy weeks ahead! We would like to offer a warm welcome to Esher, who has just joined us.
Our new topic will be ‘Pirates and Mermaids’, which should take us up to the end of term. As usual, we will try to incorporate this into all areas of the children's learning and development. We also plan to get the children out and about as much as possible, practising for sports day, gardening at the school eco garden, messy play outside etc, so please make sure your child has lots of spare named clothing in a named bag. On sunny days, please apply suncream to your child before they arrive at pre-school, and we will top-up in the middle of the day as necessary. There is a form by the signing in book to give us permission to use our own suncream (Nivea kids factor 50), for your children if you are happy with this, but if you wish to supply your own, please let us know and provide us with a named alternative – thank you. We also have quite a few spare sunhats, but if you have one that you are happy to leave at pre-school until the end of term, that would be very helpful – again, with names in please!
End-of-Term Open Afternoon
We will be holding an open afternoon on Friday 29th June, giving you the opportunity to meet with your child’s key person and discuss their latest progress report. You will also be able to have a look through the Learning Journals, and discuss next steps and targets, or any other issues or concerns you might have. It would be lovely to see you all, so please take a look at the schedule which will be out by the signing in book, and select a time that suits you. If you are unable to attend on this day, please come and talk to us, and we’ll do our best to make alternative arrangements for you.
Upcoming Events
Pre-school fundraiser – to help raise money towards our end-of-term trip, we are holding a 'sponsored pedal and push' on 28th June. Children are invited to bring along a decorated bike/trike/scooter/ride-on of their choice, and collect sponsor money to ride laps of a course outside. There will be prizes for best decorated vehicles, so please encourage your child to get involved with this! Each child will need to be accompanied by an adult, and signed out of pre-school at 2pm, before the event begins. All children will be welcome, whether they would usually attend on that day or not. Please start collecting as many sponsors as you can!
Thank you to everyone for returning the slips for our end-of-term trip to Cholderton Charlie’s Farm on Thursday 12th July. If you haven’t already done so, please return it to us ASAP.
We hope to hold our annual sports day on Tuesday 17th July, depending on the weather. If it goes ahead, all children will be welcome to participate, and again each child will need to be signed out of pre-school and accompanied by an adult, starting at 2pm on the playing field.
The graduation party will be held on Wednesday 18th July, for parents of children leaving us for 'big school'! We will provide party food for the children at lunchtime, and parents will be invited into pre-school for the graduation ceremony at 2:30pm. Further reminders and details will be sent out nearer the time.
Safeguarding reminder
Please could we remind you that should you need someone other than your named contacts to collect your
child at the end of a session, you need to let us know yourself that this will be happening. This could be in person when you drop off, or by phoning to let us know. If someone unknown to us is collecting your child, you will need to give them your password so that we can identify them. This is to comply with our safeguarding policy, and to ensure the safety of your children. Thank you for your help with this.
Some general reminders:
Snack time – please provide your child with a fruit or vegetable portion (this can include dried fruit), which can be placed in the bowl provided in the entrance hall before the session starts. We will prepare everything provided, and the children will then be able to choose what they would like to eat for their snack, giving them an opportunity to try new things with their friends! They will be offered a choice of milk or water with their snack. If your child attends any afternoon sessions, we will provide a biscuit and a drink before home time. Please speak to us if you have any concerns or if your child has any special dietary requirements.
Lunchboxes – we promote a healthy diet at preschool, so please try to provide at least one portion of either fruit or vegetables in your child's lunch, and they will be encouraged to eat this before moving onto items such as crisps or biscuits. Please ensure that grapes are cut in half to avoid a choking hazard, and if you can cut up any other fruit or veg that would be very helpful. Please do not supply sweets or fizzy drinks in lunchboxes as they will be returned home. We are happy for you to supply a squash or fruit juice drink for your child to have with their lunch, but we will always make sure that water is supplied at lunchtime for any children without a drink. In line with other settings, and because we have at least one child attending with a nut allergy, we are a nut-free pre-school, so please check labels if you are unsure whether anything contains nuts.
Nappies – if your child is in nappies, could we please ask that you provide sufficient nappies/wipes/nappy bags/cream (if necessary), in your child's bag at the start of each session. We do keep some nappies, but only in one size, so much better for your child to have their own supply – thank you!
Uniform – this is optional, but if you are considering this, pre-school uniform (including the new hoodies), is available to order via our website - please take a look!
Best wishes,
Becky, Katie, Diane and Kelly.
Dates for your diary:
Sponsored pedal and push – Thursday 28th June, 2pm
End-of-term trip – Thursday 12th July (no pre-school on this day)
Sports Day (weather permitting) – Tuesday 17th July, 1:30pm
Graduation party and last day of term – Wednesday 18th July
Inset days – Thursday 19th and Friday 20th July (pre-school closed)
Return for Autumn term – Tuesday 4th Septe